KUALA LUMPUR: Despite a challenging global economic landscape, Malaysia’s trade exceeded RM2 trillion for the third consecutive year to reach RM2.64 trillion in 2023, chalking up a trade surplus of RM214.1 billion over a successive 26-year period since 1998.
Despite a surplus, the 2023 trade figure saw a 7.3 per cent decrease versus a year ago, in tandem with slower global demand, lower commodity prices, geopolitical uncertainties, high inflation rate, downcycle in the semiconductor sector and the high base effect of last year, a statement from the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) said.
"Weak commodity prices continued to affect trade performance, notably for crude palm oil, crude petroleum and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
"Geopolitical uncertainties such as the United States-China, Russia-Ukraine and Middle East conflicts also took a toll on the global economy and dampened demand for Malaysian products while high global inflation eroded consumer purchasing power in importing countries,” MITI said.
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